Tuesday, July 31, 2012

David Raker has made a career finding the lost. A former journalist, he
has spent the past four years finding the missing for those who want them back.

When he is first approached by Julia Wren and asked to find her husband
the case doesn’t appear too complicated. Sam Wren took the tube train into work
on the morning of December 17th and was never seen again. But, as Raker
knows, the tube has cameras everywhere so discovering where Wren went shouldn’t
be too hard. Except that watching the security footage again and again doesn’t
clarify anything. Sam Wren can be seen getting onto the tube, can be spotted in
the carriage at a few of the stations and then isn’t there anymore. He hasn’t
been filmed getting off the tube though. Sam Wren has managed to disappear into
thin air during the morning rush-hour.

At the same time the police are investigating the disappearances of
young men. All the men lived alone and had few social contacts. All the men
disappeared without a trace with only their hair, shaved of and left on their
pillows, left behind.

After getting into trouble during an earlier, very personal and
emotional case, Colm Healy has a difficult time getting himself working on the
disappearances but when he does he investigates with dogged determination. He
needs this case to re-establish himself as a good investigator, even if his
colleagues are waiting for him to fuck up and destroy his career forever.

But, while Healy is swallowing his pride and keeping his head down in
order to get his career back, he is also pursuing something and someone else. A
pursuit that could cost him his job, and with it his last connection to his old
life.

As the two cases appear to connect, Raker is ordered to drop his
investigation into Wren’s disappearance. But Raker is not convinced that the
police are on the right track, and can’t reconcile what he knows about the missing
man with the conclusions the official investigators have come up with. A
tenuous cooperation between Raker and Healy brings back memories of past
tragedies as well as huge risk for both of them.

This was a good thriller. From the very first moment, when Raker decides
to investigate the strange disappearance, nothing is as it seems. Everybody has
secrets and Sam Wren is no exception. But Wren’s secrets are better hidden than
most, and uncovering what has been hidden for such a long time doesn’t lead to
answers rather than more questions and doubts.

This is the third book featuring David Raker and there are references to
earlier books and investigations. And while I have no doubt that I would have
had a better feel for both Raker and Healy if I had read the previous titles I
didn’t feel as if I were missing vital information while reading this book.

Raker is a fascinating character to read about. He has his issues and
dark sides but is basically a good man with his heart and priorities in the
right place. I wasn’t as sure about Colm Healy. While it is easy to understand
why the man was as dark as he was, I couldn’t help feeling that he wouldn’t
have been an easy or nice man even before everything went wrong for him.

The story in this book is fascinating with lots of twists and turns
quite a few cliff-hangers and shocks even after it all appears to be over.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending of the book though. To call
those final two pages ambiguous would be an understatement. And I guess we will
have to wait for Tim Weaver’s next book before we find out what exactly we were
told there.

And now for one of those strange but wonderful reading coincidences;

Earlier this month I read both Slave and Need by Sherri Hayes, a story
that deals with the modern-day slave-trade. I know there are quite a few books
dealing with that particular topic; however, having the subject playing an
import role in yet another of my reads so soon was quite surprising.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Every so often I finish a book and find myself at a complete loss as to
what to say about it, or even, quite what I thought about it. And, you’ve
guessed it; this is one of those times.

On the surface this is a story about Nora Sutherlin, a famous and very
popular author of erotica. Her latest work in progress is different from her
previous steamy novels though. This book is more personal and serious and
because Nora is convinced this could be her break-through to the mainstream
market, she is looking for a new publisher.

Enter Zachary Easton, an English man in New York and editor with a prestigious
publisher. When he is asked to edit Nora’s book he is both sceptical and
reluctant. He doesn’t believe erotica can ever be a serious work of fiction and
with only six weeks before he leaves New York he doesn’t believe there is
enough time to turn the book into something that would live up to his exacting
standards.

When Zach meets Nora he is barely polite with her but Nora is not easily
deterred. She convinces the editor to make a deal with her; if she can rewrite
the book into something he approves of within the six weeks available, he will
sign her contract.

Both Nora and Zach are tortured souls. Both of them have left the loves
of their lives because, as Nora says:

"There are only two reasons
why you leave someone you're still in love with - either it's the right thing
to do, or it's the only thing to do".

As the two of them work together and seem to get closer, the reader
discovers more about Nora and Zach, their pasts and their (lack of) hope for
the future. Through ups and downs, shocks and revelations the story and their
lives unravel; easy endings do not appear to be an option.

The reader gets glimpses of Nora’s writing, the book within the book, as
the story progresses. Some of what we read is meant for Zach and publication;
other parts of her writing are only for Nora, memories of times gone by. It
serves to give us a better understanding of the complex character that is Nora.

This book is almost impossible to categorise, anything but predictable,
shocking and heartbreaking. Nothing is exactly what you expect. This author
doesn’t aim for easy answers or convenient happy endings. Tiffany Reisz managed
to make me re-assess many of my conventional truths about love, lust and sex.
She made me feel deeply for characters who are flawed in ways I couldn’t even
imagine, made me root for those who, in another context, I would have labelled
villains.

Most characters in this book have secrets they hold very close to their
hearts, dark secrets that will change your perception of them as you read
along. And yet, despite their pasts and the decisions they make about their
futures I couldn’t help feel for the characters by the time the story ended.

This book is probably not for everyone. The contents of this story will
stretch the readers comfort levels as far as they will go, and for some, a lot
further. Some of the sexual relationships and encounters in this book are
beyond extreme. And yet, now that I’ve finished this story I wouldn’t say it
was a book about sex. This is a book about relationships, about love, about
accepting the truth about who and what you are. This is a story that will have
you experiencing virtually every emotion known to men; a story that will stay
with you long after you finish reading it.

I had no idea this was the first book in a planned series when I started
reading it and I’m not at all sure where a future book might take me. I
do know though that when the next book comes out, I’ll be one of the first
trying to get my hands on it. Because, to put it quite simply, Tiffany Reisz tells an intriguing story very well.

Update: You can have a look at what my husband thought about this book here.

This story starts immediately after the story in Slave finished. We find
Brianna Reeves reflecting on what Stephen Coleman told her the previous
evening; that even though he had bought her from Ian she is not his slave.
While this revelation should make her feel easier, Brianna finds herself more
insecure and confused then ever before. If she’s not his slave then what is
she, why is he keeping her and what is expected of her? If she’s not his slave
does that mean she will have to leave the only place she’s felt safe for a long
time? And if she does stay, will she ever be able to be what Stephen would like
her to be?

Stephen is facing fears as well now that he has told Brianna that he
doesn’t own her. Telling her that she can and should make her own decisions
means that she may decide to leave him. And Stephen has only just realised that
he has fallen in love for the first time in his life. The thought of losing
Brianna fills him with fear and yet he knows that if he wants to have a
relationship with her it has to be because she chooses him, freely.

Very slowly and very carefully Stephen continues working at making
Brianna feel safer. But this is not easy. Every time it seems like the girl has
made a bit of progress something will happen to bring her fears back with a
vengeance. Coming face to face with men she was forced to be with while being
kept as a slave sends Brianna in to full-blown panic attacks. A man from her
past, someone Stephen has an uncomfortable work-related relationship with,
confuses the young girl. Brianna’s father, who she doesn’t want to see, is
actively looking for his daughter and it is only a matter of time before he
will find her, and Stephen’s uncle Richard is still trying to interfere in his
nephew’s way of dealing with Brianna.

As Brianna slowly learns to trust Stephen and even more slowly discovers
that sex is about pleasure rather than pain, all the outside forces seem to
conspire to make their relationship impossible.

Wow! This was one emotional roller-coaster of a read.

It is impossible to read this book or its prequel, ‘Slave’, without
having your heart break for Brianna time and again. The thought of young girls
being sold as slaves, for men to do with as they please without thought or
consequence is horrific and shocking, but it is something that happens, and a
fact that should be acknowledged.

I feel Sherri Hayes did a wonderful job describing all the emotions
Brianna experiences. Her fears and insecurities made sense and were realistic,
her incapability to recognise her feelings towards Stephen was believable and
charming and the courage she finds to push herself through her fears is
astounding.

While for most of the story I adored and admired Stephen, my feelings
towards him were a bit more ambivalent then those I had with regard to Brianna.

Stephen’s need to be completely honest with Brianna had me tied up with
nerves on quite a few occasions. I couldn’t help feeling that at times it was
too much information too soon, that maybe he might have tried to avoid answering
certain of Brianna’s questions. And then I would think about it and realise
that he had to be open and honest with her if he wanted Brianna to trust him.

Boy, did I get emotionally involved in this story. Brianna and Stephen
have come to life for me while reading the first two books in this series and I
find myself rooting for them.

This story is thought-provoking, confrontational and eye-opening. But it
is also deeply emotional, romantic and erotic. I can’t imagine anybody putting
this book down without being affected by the story. The issues tackled and,
most of all, these characters will stay with me for a very long time.

My only complaint after finishing this book is that the story ended on a
massive cliff-hanger and that I have no idea when the sequel will be available.
I can only hope that will be sooner rather than later and I know that I will be
reading it as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I have one word of warning for anybody thinking about reading this book;
make sure you read ‘Slave’ first!

And now for a first on my blog: I will be giving away e-book copies of
both Slave and Need to one lucky reader. I will randomly pick one winner from
those who comment below. The give-away will run from July 28th until
August 1st.I shall contact
the lucky reader on August 2nd so please make sure to leave your
email address with your comment. The winner will have a week to get back to me,
after which time I will pick someone else. Good luck!

Everything starts with an attack on Merlotte’s, the bar where she works.
While the bar’s owner Sam and Sookie are able to stop the fire before it
spreads, the big question is who threw the Molotov cocktail and why. While
suspicion initially falls on those who have issues with Shape-shifters like
Sam, Sookie can’t help feeling that the attack could also have been aimed at
her. After all, consorting with Vampires, Were-creatures and Faeries has
brought her a fair amount of enemies of her own.

But there are more problems. Eric, her vampire boyfriend/husband is
facing huge issues with Victor, the local ruling vampire. And Victor seems
determined to provoke Eric into doing something rash so that he will have a
reason to end his undead existence. And more than that, Eric and his ‘child’
Pam appear to be hiding something from Sookie, something that could change
everything in her life. And of course having two faeries staying in her house
brings a whole set of problems of its own. And really, that’s only the top of
the iceberg.

Sookie finds herself facing a set of circumstances that will force her
to reassess herself, her attitude towards the life she is leading as well as
her relationships with those around her.

As always this book brought me a nice balance of supernatural action and
more mundane events. With Sookie always trying to strike a balance between all
the supernaturals in her life and living an everyday life like most people around
her, these stories feel as if they are set in the real world, which makes
it easier to relate to them.

On the other hand I do get a bit fed up with Sookie. You’d think that
after 11 books she’d either have gotten, if not comfortable with than at least used
to all the plotting, killing and animosity around her. Yet it feels as if she’s
rediscovering what all the creatures around her are capable of and consider
normal all over again in every single book. By now I’ve reached the stage where
I want her to either get out of the game or decide that since she’s in it she’s
going to deal with it once and for all, and yet she doesn’t.

Having said that, these are easy and comfortable books to read and I do
still enjoy catching up with these characters. So I guess that at least for now I will continue to bring these books home from the library for
as long as I can find them there.

Monday, July 23, 2012

“To call
either of us virgins would be ridiculous, yet emotionally that was just what we
were. Fumbling in the dark and too eager, completely out of our depths and
self-conscious, trying to impress and missing all the subtle nuances.”

Eva
Tramell is in her twenties and starting a new job and new life in New York City. The very
first time she enters the building where she will be working Eva runs into
Gideon Cross, a handsome, powerful and intriguing man. A run in that has the
atmosphere between them sparkling and leaves Eva breathless and worried.It
isn’t long before it becomes clear that Gideon is equally intrigued by and
attracted to Eva and their very first night out together starts with a hot and
passionate love-making session in his car. Unfortunately the evening ends with
Eva leaving the function they were visiting together alone, in a hurry and
without an explanation.Both
Eva and Gideon carry scars from the past; scars that seriously affect their day
to day life and especially their ability to have meaningful relationships. They
bring out the worst in each other; opening wounds that should remain sealed and
drive them apart as much as they can’t stand to be separated.Every
time the two damaged individuals get together there is heat between them. They
know how to satisfy each other in ways neither of them knew were possible,
while at the same time the depth of their feelings for each other and the
emotions their relationship unleashes scare them because of its power to
destroy them.Both
Gideon and Eva will have to make adjustments, change long-standing habits and
allow a new level of intimacy if their relationship is to stand a chance. Yet
their pasts and fears are so close to the surface that a happy ending appears
unlikely, if not impossible.I
really enjoyed this book. It is another work of erotic fiction but it is also
more than that. Yes, there is a lot of sex in this book and it gets described
in quite a lot of tantalizing detail. But those descriptions don’t get in the
way of the overall story. A story about two damaged individuals struggling to
come to terms with traumatic pasts in order to facilitate a happy future. While
Eva’s past is described in the book and explains a lot, if not all of her
behaviour, the reader only gets small hints at what may or may not have caused
Gideon’s pain. I guess that is a mystery that may be revealed in a future book.
Both their pasts cause our two protagonists to behave in ways that are
frustrating and infuriating. There were times I felt like screaming at them
when one or the other was once again doing or saying something that was sure to
undermine their relationship. Yet, because of the knowledge of their traumatic
pasts I found myself able of cutting them more slack than I usually do with
characters in romances.

Yes, there are obvious similarities with E.L. James’ Fifty Shades books.
The (sexual) theme in this book may not be a BDSM relationship, but there are
definite domination related overtones in this book. And, as in the James’ books
we are dealing with protagonists who have issues that make a “normal”
relationship hard to imagine.

On the other hand, the writing in this book is better and smoother than that
which can be found in the Fifty Shades books.

And, I love what I found in the acknowledgements at the end of the book:

“To E.L.
James, who wrote a story that captivated readers and created a hunger for more.
You rocked it!”

In short I would call this a hot and intriguing love story with
characters that are as fascinating as they are infuriating. A sure-fire way to
get this reader hooked.

After two simultaneous but separate missions to an unidentified object
in Earth’s orbit go horribly wrong Zack Stuart is the only astronaut staying
behind in its interior. Four of his colleagues and rivals are on their way back
to earth, the rest have died on the object affectionately named Keanu.

Meanwhile on earth 187 random people have been picked up from the rival
space stations in Houston and Bangalore by big flying orbs and are on their
way to Keanu. Amongst those abducted are Zack’s 14 year old daughter Rachel,
Gabriel Jones the father of the now deceased astronaut who caused a disaster on
Keanu and Pavak Radhakrishnan, the son of the commander of the Bangalore space ship who is safely on his way
back to earth.

It is now very clear that Keanu is not an asteroid or planet but in fact
a space-ship, one that had a good reason to travel to earth, one that wants to recruit
humans into its war against a force that could destroy the universe and one
that is starting to fail.

The humans on Keanu will have to adjust to their new living arrangements,
learn how to survive on a space-ship that appears to want to accommodate them
but still holds many dangers, marvels and nightmares. But most of all, they
have to figure out a way to make it back to earth in order to protect their
home from disaster.

Before I say anything else about this book let me state that if at all
possible you should not read this book unless you have read its prequel:
Heaven’s Shadow. The story in this book starts at the exact moment the first
book ended, and although there are some references to what happened in the
first book you need more background information than can be found here if you
want to truly enjoy Heaven’s War.

And this truly is a story to enjoy. It is action packed, filled with
suspense and with just about enough pure science-fictional fact.

Because the perspective in the story switches between the main
characters the reader is introduced to the strange habitats on Keanu on several
different levels, ranging from teenage girl to fully qualified scientist. It
also means that the book is filled with cliff-hangers. Most chapters, and
individual narratives, end on a pivotal moment forcing the reader to keep on
reading. But since the chapters you need to read before you arrive at the
resolution of your cliff-hanger all end on similar highs there is always this
urge to keep on reading.

Another advantage of the alternating narrator set-up is that the reader
gets an insight into characters and their motivations without the need for
lengthy descriptions. The actions, thoughts and emotions as described by the characters
give each of them their own, unique personality.

The space-ship, Keanu, is a marvel consisting of several habitats, all
completely geared towards their individual and very diverse inhabitants. As
small groups of humans explore various parts of Keanu, the reader gets an
insight into the set up of the space-ship as well as the different life-forms
it accommodates. Having said that, I did feel that a little more information
about the non-human occupants and their role in the struggle against the common
enemy would have been helpful. In fact, that lack of information in favour of
action would be my one, minor, reservation about this book.

Overall though, this was a gripping space adventure and a true
page-turner. This is also very much a story in the middle of a beginning and
(as far as I know) the end in the next book. While the book starts where the first book ended,
it also finishes at such a moment that the reader is left with no idea what
exactly is going on or might be about to happen next. It will be a long wait
for the third book and an answer to the questions this story has left the
reader with.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

By the time the narrator of this story is fifty he has lived his life
almost as if by accident. An unexceptional childhood followed by an
impassionate marriage and successful but unfulfilling careers, first as a G.P
and subsequently as an upstanding but unremarkable Member of Parliament. A life
lived without strong emotions of any kind. A life which, had it ended in the
narrator’s fiftieth year, would have been widely respected and totally
unremarkable.

Everything changes when he meets Anna Barton, his son’s girlfriend.
Although his wife is suspicious of the girl, who is eight year older than her
beloved 25 year old son, the narrator feels an instant attraction to her the
moment he meets her. An attraction that appears to be mutual since he and Anna
start a passionate affair shortly after meeting.

The affair with Anna becomes the narrator’s obsession. For the first time
in his life he is experiencing strong emotions and he is unable and unwilling
to let go of either those emotions or the woman who has triggered them and is at
the centre of them.

Anna is a troubled woman though, with tragedy in her past and almost
certainly tragedy in her future. As Anna and the narrator’s son prepare to get
married, the affair continues as passionate as ever and disaster must surely
wait, just around the corner.

This was not an easy book to read. It is a bit like watching a
train-wreck. You know that it’s all going to go horribly wrong but yet you
can’t look away, can’t stop reading, even though you are feeling increasingly
uncomfortable with what is happening on the page.

From the very first chapter it is clear that this story is not going to
have a happy ending:

“But I did not die in my
fiftieth year. There are few who know me now who do not regard that as a
tragedy.”

From the very first word it is clear that the narrator is speeding his
way towards disaster and the reader has no choice but to watch him destroy not
only his own life but also that of those around him.

Of course it is proof of the excellent writing that although I did end
up feeling extremely uncomfortable about the road to self-destruction the
narrator so willingly took I had to follow him to the bitter end.

It is strange to read a book in which the sympathetic characters are the
secondary ones. The two main protagonists’ selfish actions make it hard if not
impossible for the reader to like them. They are, because of their characters
and actions, fascinating to read about though.

This would make a great book for a reading group discussion since it
brings some interesting questions to mind.

Does a life-time lived without passion really constitute a life? Or, how
much are we willing to excuse or explain away because of trauma early in life?
How would I react or behave if I were any of the characters in this story? I
could go on.

If I were absolutely honest I should probably mark this book five stars.
It is very well written, a compulsive read and thought-provoking. The reason I
can’t quite get myself to do so is completely personal; the book made me
uncomfortable while I was reading it and still has me feeling that discomfort
now that I’m writing about it. I would call this an ugly story very beautifully
told.

The story in this book picks up exactly where the first book, A Discovery of Witches, left off. Diana Bishop, witch and Matthew Clairmont,
vampire, have timewalked to London in 1590 where they hope to find Ashmole 782,
the book Diana accidently accessed in the present and which appears to hold the
answers to the questions they need to answer in order to stay together and
secure the future of witches, vampires and daemons alike.

But, what appeared to be a good and simple idea in theory turns out to
be rather complicated in practice.

Returned to a previous incarnation of himself, Matthew finds himself
surrounded by those who were his friends and associates at the time and at
least one of them, Christopher Marlowe, is jealous of Matthew’s connection with
Diana and because he’s a daemon and therefore unpredictable, this emotion is
potentially dangerous.

But there are more problems.

While Diana as a historian, knows a lot about the time she has travelled
to, she is an obvious outsider; her speech, her actions and even her appearance
don’t really fit into the late 16th century. Ashmole 782 turns out to be
as elusive in the past as it is in the present and finding a witch who can
teach Diana what she needs to know in order to travel back to where she belongs
proofs very difficult as well.

And there is Matthew’s life as it was in 1590. Working as a spy for
Queen Elizabeth as well as King James while also collecting information for his
father, Philippe de Clermont means he is spreading himself very thin while
constantly balancing his various interests and identities.

Their search will take Diana and Matthew from London
to France, where Matthew
faces a difficult and emotional reunion with his father and subsequently to Prague before returning to London again. On their travels the two meet
both Queen Elizabeth and Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia
as well as various other historical figures.

And in the midst of their adventures Diana and Matthew have to get to
know each other better, determine how their relationship is going to work and
overcome their individual fears and insecurities.

This is a wonderful and captivating book. Even though it had been about
a year since I read “A Discovery of Witches” I found myself back in the story
almost immediately after picking up this book.

Diana and Matthew may be other-than-human characters but they are completely
recognisable when it comes to their emotions, insecurities and actions.

Very often a second book in a trilogy feels like filler material. This
book didn’t suffer from that particular problem at all. This is a complete and
fascinating story in and off itself, although I wouldn’t advice anybody to read
this book without having read “A Discovery of Witches” first.

Historical detail, though at times slightly adjusted, is weaved
seamlessly into the fabric of this story. In fact, the integration is so
accomplished that at times I found myself wondering if maybe the details as
described in this book were true to what had actually happened rather than that
which we read in our history books. And while there is a lot of detail, it
never takes the pace out of the story or takes the readers attention away from
the fictional narrative. The fact that the reader gets to meet an almost
endless procession of historical figures, most of whom they will have at least
a passing knowledge of, adds enormous interest to the story. Because a lot of
characters, both fictional and real, form part of this story even the
historically very astute reader might find themselves scratching their head at
times. Thankfully a glossary of characters is provided at the end of the book,
making it easy for the reader to check who everybody actually is and whether or
not they were real.

I was impressed with the way in which the author dealt with the paradox
that is always present when dealing with time-travel. Not only did she mention
the fears both Diana and Matthew have about the actions they undertake in the
past changing events in the future, Harkness also had the characters from the
first book, who stayed behind in the present, dealing with any anomalies surfacing
in the present. In this way the paradox was dealt with but, more importantly,
it also gave the reader short glimpses at the characters who had been important
in book one, will without a doubt be important again in book three but had no
real place in the events taking place in the 16th century.

This is a book filled to overflowing with story, characters, locations
and events and it is almost impossible to write a review that truly honours
everything that happens and everybody who plays a role in this story. I’ve
tried my best and still feel that I’ve not quite succeeded in conveying how
very special this book is. All I can say is: read this book! Just make sure
that you read “A Discovery of Witches” first. Anybody reading this book without
knowing the prior story would deprive themselves of a lot of reading enjoyment.
As for me, I will now be holding my breath until the third and final part of
this trilogy will be available. I can’t wait to find out how this story is
going to end.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Camilla has been watching (or is it stalking?) her neighbour Ivan for a
while now. Ivan is a scientist who lives for his research, goes through his
daily routines on a strict and very predictable schedule, doesn’t appear to
have a social life and seems ignorant to the fact that Camilla is an interested
female.

When Ivan approaches Camilla with a request, it isn’t for the date she
wouldn’t mind having with him. Instead he asks her for help. He is expected to
go to an important fund-raiser for his work but hates events like that and is
well aware that he is like a fish out of water when it comes to small talk and
socialising.

When Camilla agrees to give him a few lessons in social niceties she
sees it as a chance to get a bit closer to him, and although she tries to get
him to pay attention to her while she’s teaching him, she doesn’t get her hopes
up.

But, there are these small, almost hidden smiles she occasionally sees
on his face. Do they mean anything? Could they mean that he might, after all,
be noticing that she is a woman, or is she imagining things?

On a night out with friends, Ivan seems to change and when he asks her
to let him be in charge, Camilla accepts, especially since she enjoys the feel
of his hand on her legs.

What happens next is not something Camilla could ever have imagined. It
turns out that Ivan doesn’t only need to be in charge of his life, he also
needs complete control over his bedroom and the woman he takes there.

As Camilla is discovering a submissive side to herself she never knew
she had she can’t stop her feelings for Ivan from deepening. But is this
socially awkward man feeling the same, or is this only another experiment for
him; one that will end when the fund-raiser has been dealt with?

This was a nice romantic story with interesting characters.

While Camilla is a more or less run of the mill girl, in love with an
apparently unattainable man, Ivan makes for fascinating reading. As the reader
learns more about him it becomes clear that he isn’t just socially awkward but
may well suffer from some sort of autism like disorder. This is not something
that is explored in any depth, but the suggestion is there and it gives the
reader something to think about and adds an interesting dimension to the book.

Although there were times (early on) when I felt this was a bit of a
silly story, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling and even softly laughing at
times. Ivan’s apparent social inaptitude and the way Camilla reacted to it, was
on several occasions very funny.

I enjoyed the way the reader has as little insight in what is going on
with Ivan as Camilla had. I had my suspicions about the man, but as he keeps on
surprising both Camilla and the reader this book is never as predictable as it
could easily have been in the hands of a lesser author.

There are quite a few erotic scenes in this book as we follow Camilla’s
introduction to the BDSM scene. But, this is more than just a book filled with
erotica. Before we get to even the suggestion of intimacy the author has
established the setting and the characters and by the time our two main
characters do get together the reader is as eager for it as Camilla is.

The descriptions of Ivan and Camilla’s adventures in the bedroom, while
steamy and sexy, are never offensive or even shocking. Yes, this is a book
about a BDSM relationship, but first and foremost it is a book about intimacy,
pleasure and two people getting together on a level they are both comfortable
with.

I saw somebody describe this book as “the Big Bang Theory goes BDSM” and
that is such a good description of this book that I just have to borrow it. How
good a comparison this actually is may be demonstrated by the following quote:

“To me, all this is just a
way to experiment with our own bodies and minds. To test the boundaries of what
we can do with ourselves, what we’re willing
to do. A chance to be both observer and subject.”

Overall I’d have to conclude that for me this was a nice, easy to read,
at times funny erotic romance. One that may well lead to me checking out other
titles by this author.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

On a cold and abandoned beach a man comes to. He is naked and throwing
up seawater. He is very cold and has no idea who he is, where he is, why he is
there or why he is not wearing clothes. All he knows is that he will have to
get warm or he will die.

Dragging his exhausted body across the beach he stumbles upon a
beautiful and unlocked BMW. He gets into the car, manages to turn it on and
with the heater at full blast slowly gets his body temperature up to a more
normal level.

In the trunk of the car he finds clothes and shoes that fit him
perfectly and a look through the contents of glove box uncovers an owner’s
manual for the BMW in the name of Daniel Hayes as well as a Rolex and a black
semi-automatic gun.

Since the man can’t remember who he is no matter how hard he tries he
decides that since the clothes fit he might as well assume he is this Hayes
person.

The man checks into a cheap motel in the hope that a good sleep will
restore his memory but when he wakes up he still has no idea about his past. He
does have a strong impulse to turn the television on at six which brings him to
a show called Candy Girls and the character called Emily; a girl who brings out
strong emotions in him although he doesn’t know what the emotions are or what
they mean.

When a policeman, his gun drawn, comes looking for Hayes in his motel
room he makes a run for it. And since Hayes has an address in Malibu
according to the manual and the BMW has California
plates that is where the man sets off for. But while he hopes to be travelling
towards answers and clarification he will find himself entering a nightmare,
shocking revelations and more questions once he arrives in Los Angeles.

I would absolutely love to be able to share more about the plot in this
book but I can’t. Revealing anymore about this story would amount to spoiling
this book for future readers. Surprises, twists and unexpected discoveries fill
this book from the very first page, and not knowing what to expect is part of
what makes this a very good thriller.

The fact that the main character has no better idea about what is going
on than the reader does gives this thriller an added edge. The reader can never
be sure if the main character, his thoughts or his conclusions can be trusted.
The amnesia, which lifts only very slowly, ensures that neither the reader nor
Daniel Hayes can be sure whether he’s a good guy or a dangerous criminal.

It is clear from early on in the book that there is another man, one who
is looking for Hayes, who is obviously up to no good, but the reader has no
idea why and, initially at least, Hayes doesn’t even know somebody is after him.

As Hayes tries to figure out who he is and why he was trying to kill
himself in Maine,
so far from where he lives, the reader can only hope that his memories will
return to him in time to save him from whatever it is that is haunting him.
That is of course, if he actually deserves to be saved.

In conclusion I would like to say that this is a great thriller; one
that will keep the reader turning the pages to find out what exactly is going
on and how it could possibly end on a positive note. The amnesia and the
despair that accompanies it are enough to make this a true page turner. The
fact that Sakey has added a lot of other mysteries and twists ensures that this
is the sort of book that is almost impossible to put down. A book only to be
started when you have enough time to just keep on reading.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The year is 1912 and the Torrington
family is in danger of losing their house, Sterne. Unless second husband and
stepfather Edward Swift can secure a loan in Manchester,
the family will lose the place Emerald, Clovis
and Imogen (Smudge) have called home all their lives.

With Swift away on his rescue mission the rest of the household is
preparing to celebrate Emerald’s twentieth birthday. But what should
have been a quiet get-together over dinner turns into a nightmare when a train
accident close by brings a group of rather sinister looking travellers to
Sterne’s door looking for refuge.

Then, just before the family and their guests are due to sit down to
dinner, one last train passenger shows up at the house. Unlike the earlier
arrivals Charlie Traversham Beecher is obviously a first-class traveller and
before anybody is quite sure what has happened he has joined the birthday party,
much to Charlotte Swift’s distress. Charlie and Charlotte appear to know each
other and Florence Trieves, the housekeeper, is clearly shocked to find the man
in the house.

While the storm outside the house gets ever fiercer, the atmosphere in
the house gets creepier as well. From the dinner that fails to appear as
expected, via the ever rowdier and apparently growing group of refugees to the
cruel and unusual game introduced by Charlie, Emerald’s evening is rapidly
heading towards disaster. And just when it appears that things couldn’t
possibly get any worse…

This is a very enjoyable story and not quite what it at first appears to
be. What starts off as a comedy of errors appears to turn into a drama only to
become a supernatural story with a charming happy ending.

None of the characters in this book are what they at first appear to be
either. While, at the start of the book, the characters seem like rather
superficial, selfish and almost stereo-typical products of the times they live
in, they all end up surprising both the reader and themselves before the story
has ended.

Great comic relief is provided by Smudge as she embarks on her “great
undertaking”.

For some reason reading this book was not as smooth for me as I would
like it to be. I found that I had to read sentences at least twice on several
occasions just to make sure I understood what I was being told. It didn’t ever
irritate me or make me want to put the book down, but it happened often enough
for me to take notice.

Overall though, I enjoyed reading this book. The story and the way it
developed and ended surprised me and put a smile on my face. And any book that
does that for me is a book worth reading.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Received from Smith
Publicity - The Writer's Coffee Shop through NetGalley

Own / Kindle

Stephan Coleman is single
but has been a Dominant for five years when a friend of his tells him about a
girl he has met at a party. The girl was with a man named Ian and obviously
unhappy and scared.

Like Stephan, Ian is a man
who likes to dominate his women, but unlike Stephan he doesn’t believe in
voluntary submission; Ian’s women are his slaves.

Shocked by what he hears,
Stephan contacts Ian and arranges a meeting. As soon as he lays eyes on the
young woman named Brianna, who is obviously very scared, he offers to buy her
off Ian; an offer which is accepted.

Bringing Brianna Home,
Stephan finds himself in a situation he isn’t prepared for. While Brianna is
completely submissive she is also petrified of him and the situation she finds
herself in. All Stephan can think to do is try and win her confidence, show her
that he won’t force her to do anything she is uncomfortable with and help her
rebuild her life.

Eighteen year old Brianna
doesn’t know what to make of the situation she finds herself in after Stephan
buys her. After ten months of being abused and misused she is scared and prone
to panic attacks whenever memories of her earlier life come back to her. And
she is unsure as to what exactly her position in relation to Stephan is. While
she calls him “master” and follows his orders, he doesn’t act the way she expects
him to. He doesn’t hurt her, doesn’t force himself upon her and keeps on
telling her that she is safe. And while she would love to believe that she has
found safety, she knows she’s just a slave and not worth anything. After all,
didn’t Stephan buy her?

Will Stephan be able to
convince Brianna that she has choices and is safe? And when he does, will she
stay with him or will she decide to leave him? Because Stephan has fallen in
love with vulnerable Brianna and wants nothing more than a relationship with
her, but he also loves her enough to not demand anything she isn’t willing to
give.

This story proves that a
person should never judge a book by its cover or its title for that matter.
When I requested this book I was fully expecting an erotic tale with a BDSM
theme. And while BDSM is exactly the lifestyle Stephan has chosen for himself
there is no sex, of any description, in this book. The two main characters
don’t get anymore intimate than holding hands and the occasional kiss.

This is a book about a young
woman who has been broken by a hateful and despicable man and the lengths
another man is willing to go to in order to make her whole again. As such this
is a beautiful story. Who wouldn’t want a man like Stephan - a man willing to
do just about anything to make them happy - in their life?

This is also a very well
written story. Both Brianna’s fear and Stephan’s heartfelt care are palatable.
While there where times when I found myself wondering whether Stephan’s
approach to the situation was the right one, I was never in doubt that his
intentions were anything but good.

This is an emotional read.
It is impossible not to have your heart break at least a little bit for
Brianna. The emotional and physical abuse she’s been subjected to should not be
experienced by anyone, ever. And the strength she tries to summon in order to
live up to Stephan’s expectations is both inspirational and devastating. And
reading Stephan’s side of the story is just as emotional; his emerging feelings
for Brianna, his confusion over these new to him feelings and his wish to only
do what is right for her, despite what that might mean for him, is wonderful.

Because this story is told
by both main characters in turn the reader gets a great insight into what it
going on inside them. It does mean that a few scenes are described twice, but
since both perspectives are so very different it never feels repetitive.

I was captivated by this
story and am very glad that I already have the sequel downloaded for reading
later this month.

In a near future (the 2050’s or thereabouts) everybody in the world is
connected with each other and their surroundings through a virtual network,
inter-active glasses and various implants. At this time, during which space exploration
has been suspended, Gerald Livingstone is an astronaut whose job it is to
collect and dispose of the space junk which can be found in huge amounts,
orbiting our Earth. When he spots a strange and shiny object floating around,
his curiosity gets the better of him and he makes the unauthorised effort to
retrieve the item.

What appears to be a manufactured crystal seems to come to live when
Gerald touches it. It turns out to be a sort of repository containing a large
number of different aliens all of whom are competing to get Gerald’s and later
the world’s attention. And although their message appears to be urgent they are
very evasive when it comes to explaining themselves or their ultimate purpose.

At about the same time, Peng Xiang Bin, a young Chinese man desperately
trying to build a life for himself, his partner and baby by scavenging the new
coastline discovers a second crystal, one whose messenger claims that those
inside the first crystal are liars.

With the whole world involved in the discussion about what to make of
the aliens’ warnings and proposed solution, various people decide to take
positions and push their personal causes.

There is Tor Povlov, a journalist whose body was destroyed in a
terrorist attack who now operates on a cyber level with the aid of a virtual
think-tank, Hamish Brookeman, the famous author of doomsday books who advocates
an anti-technology course of action, and Lacey
Donaldson-Sander one of the super-rich de-facto rulers of the world to name but
a few. With everybody, including the aliens, having an agenda of their own, the
big question is whether or not humanity is equipped to deal with and survive
the alien’s arrival.

This book starts of very slow. The near-future-world has to be introduced
and build as do the various characters, their backgrounds and motivation. But
even when the story does really kick off this still isn’t a quick read. The
story is filled to the brim with facts, speculation and details which will
prove important further on in the story. If the reader wants to fully
appreciate this story they’d do well to take their time and try and absorb what
is happening.

From the moment humanity discovers that the artifact aliens have a
purpose of their own, a purpose that could destroy Earth the question becomes
and remains who is outsmarting who? Are the humans smart enough to anticipate
every trick in the aliens’ book or have the latter foreseen any attempts at
foiling their purpose and is humanity destined to repeat mistakes made by other
races?

It was this question and the fact that it never appears to get a
definite answer that really got me invested in the story. There were times when
I could see an ulterior motive before the characters in the book did and could
only hope that they would come to the same conclusion. At other times those
characters where way ahead of me, taking actions that filled me with dread but
appeared to turn out for the best later on, although the question always
remained; did they really find a safe solution or are they still being tricked
into a false sense of security?

It is a shame that there are one or two story-lines that did not appear
to serve a real purpose in the overall context of the book. For example, as
much as I enjoyed the adventures of Hacker and his encounter with the dolphins
I’m not sure why it had to be part of this story or what it was meant to
illustrate that couldn’t be seen through any of the other story-lines. The
prophet, Tenskwatawa, was another interesting character that got introduced in
the early part of the story only to disappear again without having served any
obvious purpose. And while the autistics and resurrected Neanderthals do seem
to have a role to play later on in the story I can’t help feeling that a lot
more could have been done with their storyline.

Maybe this book suffers from too much story. I can’t help feeling that
the author had a host of great ideas and then tried to squeeze them all into
one narrative. It is quite possible that spreading them out a bit would have
led to a more satisfying reading experience.

Overall though I was fascinated by the main story in this book from the
moment it was fully introduced and I know that I will be thinking about it even
now, after I read the last page. And any book that manages to capture my
attention to such a degree deserves to be praised.

On a separate note, I loved the cover on this book and the 3-D picture
it shows.

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About Me

My name is Marleen. I'm Dutch but have been living in Ireland for well over 15 years now. I have a passion and love for reading and books. Since early 2008 I have been lucky enough to have been working part time in the library in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan where among other things I run the library reading group.
I will read almost anything that has words in it, and post my thoughts on everything I read in this blog:

Review Disclaimer

In this blog I write my thoughts on every book I read. Some I will have brought home from the library, some will have been bought while others will have been sent to me for review. I do not get paid for reading and reviewing any books and all opinions are mine and mine alone. Whether a book was borrowed, bought or received will be indicated at the top of every review.

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